Two Days, One Night (Dardennes Brothers)

johnny_ultimate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InuzW58ydyU

Out today.

This film is a marvel. I'm a fan of the Dardennes Brothers' style, but this one hit me particularly hard.

The setup seems contrived: Sandra (Marianne Coutillard) is facing unemployment after her boss forces a vote with her co-workers in which they have to choose either Sandra or their own €1,000 bonuses. Sandra loses. She and one of her sympathetic colleagues persuade the owner to have another secret ballot the following week, so Sandra has one short weekend to persuade her co-workers to vote with her.

The Dardennes manage a mesmerising feat here as they explore the various ethical and moral dilemmas faced. It's sort of an anti-parable, despite its seemingly morally loaded concept - this isn't a story with one outlook, but seventeen of them. While we're naturally inclined to side with Sandra, each co-worker has their own convincing motivations and reasons (except for one guy who's just an asshole). We get only brief glimpses into their lives, but suffice to say there's no black & white answer here. Indeed, as Sandra is forced to repeat the same spiel over and over again, it visibly becomes increasingly heartbreaking and desperate - it becomes obvious that voting for her will have significant impacts on her co-workers lives, and indeed the people who rely on them. Sympathies are torn, and the film raises all sorts of questions about social dynamics and the challenges facing the working class in an economically fraught world.

All this is done in the typically economical way the Dardennes are experts at. The visuals are unshowy and (deceptively) simple, but the long-takes in medium and close angles capture with devastating clarity the reactions and emotions of these characters. Reactions are caught in frank and intimate detail - the discomfort, the despair, the occasional victories. The realist approach ensures the film never dips into sentimentality - while there are dramatic contrivances, everything flows beautifully and organically. Cotillard's performance is also unshowy, but she is totally convincing as this desperate, conflicted woman.

There's a few small issues I had (one significant plot point is rushed through, and there's some inconsistency in the way Sandra's depression is handled) but they didn't distract in any significant way from what is powerful and emotionally harrowing cinema from two masterful directors. Most definitely a little marvel that's as captivating and affecting as any thriller.

Out in the Lighthouse and IFI, or Volta if a cinema near you isn't showing it!

otnomart

I loved it, too.
Am a big fan of the Dardennes brothers, their light touch is something that Ken Loach has only developed later.
Makes me think, we need more movies to tell the stories of this global recession.
There haven't been many, so far.

Going off topic now, but thinking about Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) and the character of the mother, the Estate Agent lady. Totally underdeveloped in the movie, but an interesting story to tell.

vidor

Saw this the other day. Monotonous and borders on the melodramatic at times (not necessarily a negative but here I felt it was out of sync with everything else that was happening). Left this feeling that there won't be much to be gained from a second viewing.

Remember watching and enjoying L'Enfant years back, shame this didn't reach those heights.

johnny_ultimate

I would rarely defend monotony or repetition, but I think it's a vital tool here. I really felt Sandra's increasing desperation and exhaustion as she had to repeat that same spiel over and over again. It played out a basic situation ten plus times, but IMO almost every time further highlighted another moral nuance and how a 'right' response was increasingly impossible. The repercussions of every subsequent yes or no hit hard. I felt drained by the end, and not in a bored way - I had a legitimate fascination in how the situation would play out, and how the characters would choose to vote.

Definitely some melodramatic moments, but I felt there was a wonderful bland of naturalistic storytelling and more contrived, dramatic fair.

MakeEmLaugh

Marion Cottilard was excellent on this. I'm glad to see her get an Oscar nomination, though she's unlikely to win, seeing as she already has one for another foreign-language role.

That said, I did find the film somewhat repetitive. Perhaps this is the essence of the Dardenne brothers (I wouldn't know, not having seen many of their films).

I did like the dénouement. Neither a 'happy' or 'sad' conclusion, but satisfactory nonetheless.

cloud493

Did this get released on blu ray? I very much want to see it.

MakeEmLaugh

cloud493 wrote: »

Did this get released on blu ray? I very much want to see it.

I watched it on Volta.ie. Not HD but very convenient and easy to steam nonetheless.

cloud493

I prefer physical copies, thanks though. HMV seems to have the blu ray in stock.

MaxwellsHammer

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

I watched it on Volta.ie. Not HD but very convenient and easy to steam nonetheless.

Really like Volta but would be great if there was a better members package. Thought Two Days, One Night was a really good film with not only Cotillard putting in a great performance but lots of the supporting cast too.

pheasant tail

It's on Netflix for anyone looking to watch it